Sholing 0 – 1 Winchester City

Sholing unlucky to come off second best in a feisty derby at Mortgage Decisions Stadium.

Sholing, donning their red and white home strip, began attacking the left side goal and quickly asserted dominance in the midfield, Jake Flannigan sent the opposite numbers to the cleaners with a lovely turn. Sholing continued to dominate possession all over the field resulting in a blast from Seung Yang which failed to find the back of the net. The Winchester defenders had no rest bite with the Boatmen creating another chance, this time forcing a corner.

The home side won their individual battles with new arrival Mike Folivi drawing a free kick. Another new signing Pat Nash in between the sticks controlled his area well, keeping the opposing attackers from testing him. The visitors were denied again, courtesy of a courageous goal line clearance from Joe Rabbets. Harry Taylor wasn’t letting himself get beat either, sprinting to cut off a ball that the Winchester forward was eyeing up. Sholing had another chance after some great link up play with Charlie Gunson receiving the ball down the wing but couldn’t find an end product to his cross.

Winchester had a rare chance but George-Milner Smith was equal to it and repeated his heroics by heading away the resulting corner which Nash was quick to thank him for.The man in the goal pulled off his own heroics soon after, sending a swirling Winchester shot away for another chance. Folivi was in the action again when he attempted an overhead kick which pressured the away keeper into a quick thinking save. The away side had a penalty shout after apparent contact by Gunson but the referee gave nothing.Folivi found himself on the end of another cross but only found the advertising boards on top of the stands. After an away free kick, Milner-Smith put all his power behind the ball and hoofed it straight up the other end.

We had one more chance before the interval after the Winchester keeper had parried and several boatmen attackers scrambled until the shot came from

Zidane Akers but failed to convert. The final chance of the half fell the way of the visitors but Smith was there again to curtail it. HT 0-0

As the second half got underway, Winchester took a desperate shot and found the marquee instead of the net. We had our first chance of the half after Folivi appeared again, pouncing on a lapse of concentration by the visitors, causing the Winchester keeper to come out and claim it.

The away side got a break when under pressure from Benny Reed the away forward went down and the ref pointed to the spot. IK Hill slotted down the middle and gave his team the lead. The Boatmen attempted to bite back immediately after Folivi and Akkers linked up well, forcing the visiting back line to put their bodies on the line. After a spell of dominance from the away side, Jake Flannigan took it upon himself and headed the ball away and sprinted to it to help the home team up the field. Sholing were reduced to ten men after Harry Taylor was sent off, The team in red and white knew they had to work harder now and they were quickly got back to the Winchester area but failed to find the leveller.

Winchester put in their ferocity after a tough tackle on Seung Yang by Danny King, Yang put it behind him and dragged a shot just wide. Milner Smith and Flannigan posed the last line of defence after Jake stopped a certain Winchester second. Folivi continued to be a thorn in the away team’s side, creating a corner after his shot from the left whisked away. Another home chance fell the way of Max Bustamante this time from the right which nearly nestled in the near post.

We pushed and pushed in the effort to get a late equaliser but Winchester stood firm and defended well and in the end the man advantage was crucial. FT 0-1